Typically, all-terrain vehicles or ATVs are equipped with a gear transmission mechanism which is configured to be shiftable by a single shift fork. A shift-lever device is installed on a floor in proximity to a driver's seat. The shift-lever device is configured so that it shifts a gear of the gear transmission mechanism between Forward High (H), Forward Low (L), Neutral (N), and Reverse (R).
This kind of shift-lever device is connected to the gear transmission mechanism provided behind the driver's seat with a rigid tie rod which extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. An operation of the shift lever moves the tie rod in the longitudinal direction thereof so that the tie rod rotates a shift shaft of the gear transmission mechanism to move a shift fork attached to the shift shaft to a position corresponding to the operation of the shift lever.
The shift lever is configured so that it is inserted through a gate of a gate plate which is disposed around halfway along the longitudinal direction of the shift lever. The shift lever is pivoted with two-degrees-of-freedom at a lower end thereof. A pivoting movement of the shift lever is guided by the gate and limited to the gate shape (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication Unexamined No. 2002-264679 and Japanese Patent Publication Unexamined No. 2002-144907).
In the shift-lever device of the above kind, due to the connection of the transmission mechanism by the linear, rigid tie rod, the disposed position of the shift-lever device is limited to, for example, a position in proximity to the gear transmission mechanism and/or along a straight line from the shift shaft of the gear transmission mechanism (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication Unexamined No. 2002-144907).
Another type of shift-lever device includes a flexible push-pull cable instead of the rigid tie rod. This push-pull cable reduces the limitation of the disposed position of the shift-lever device. For example, the shift-lever may be disposed in a dashboard, on either right-hand or left-hand side of a steering handle disposed typically above the driver's seat (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication Unexamined No. 2000-225866).
However, it is known that there exists a clearance inside the push-pull cable between an internal peripheral surface of an outer casing and an outer peripheral surface of an inner cable inserted through the casing. Due to the clearance, misalignment in a rotational position of the shift shaft may occur when the inner cable is pushed or pulled by the shift lever. As a result, the shift fork may not move to an appropriate position, and thus a gear shift may not be carried out correctly. The misalignment can be much larger than with a tie rod, and it increases with length and number of bends of the push-pull cable when installed in the vehicle.